Knitting machine



Dec. 13, I938. w, L HQU EMAN 2,139,754

' KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 2'7, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 m rm rae n m aW m M L w W Deep. 13, 1938. w. L. HOUSEMAN 39,75

KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 27, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 X770 A fyf.

1938- w. L. HOUSEMAN 2,139,754

' I KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 27, 1955 V 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 4/70 was.

. -'Ifhis invention 'relatesto a circular knitting- Patented Dec. 13,1938 Q I WiIb'ur'L. fiouseman,

Maplewood; 1., assignor to Standard Trump Bros. Machine Company, iLaconia, N. .11., a corporationof Delaware- Application April 27,1935,Serial n 18,498

:14 ,(CL so-14o) machine and has particular reference to mechanism forhandling yarns in the'production of" 1 horizontal stripes.. a

,- i It is common practicerwhen makingstripes and cut the yarns astheyare withdrawn. This results in a stocking having a'great number of endsof (yarns where the yarns are both inserted and withdrawn. A muchneaterresult is ob- 1 Qtained if the yarnsare not clamped and cut but arecontrolled while inactive by take up sweeps.

so that when they are reinserted. only one float is visible on theinside of the fabric, extending practically vertically from the needleon which a yarn was .last knit to the needle where it was againinserted. It isthe: broad object of the present invention toprovide-means for accomclamping and cutting means used inthe-knitplishing this latter typeof operation, insuring also thedefinite entering .of the yarns on a given ri needle and the definiteremoval'on-anothernee-' die, .for example two'needles behind the firstmentionedneedle. It'is a further-object of the invention to' provideanarrangement which, while avoiding theclamping and cutting of thestrip-'- ing yarns during the formation of a leg-or foot portion of thestocking, will neverthelessprovide for properly clamping ,and' cuttingvthem when,

for example, a heel or toe is knit; 1 These and other more specificobjects of th invention will become apparent "from thetfollowingdescription read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic developed view-showing ,needles, associatedcams and yarnv fingers and otherdevices adjacent a yarn feeding point. 7Fig. 2 is a fragmentary radial sectiontaken adjacent the yarn feedingpoint as indicated at 2-4 in Fig. 1. Fig 3-1's a fragmentary plan viewshowing a j ting machine embodying the invention.

. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the same.

. Fig. 5 is a side elevation controls; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the take-up devices.

needle cylinder in 51 5. uiniwhich-slide'latch is provided with anextension which-serves needles 4 provided with butts' 6. iCooperatingwith these needles for the formationiof'stitches are conventionalsinkers 8. Yarns areifed' tothe needles by 'yarn fingerscomprising,forexample; two striping yarn carrying fingers I0 and Hand Q'otherfingers. carrying additional yarns which may be incorporated in variousparts of a; stocking. It will be clear, of course, that more than twostriping yarn fingers may be used. The V8.-.; rious yarn fingersarecontrolled bysuitahle pattern .devices which are diagrammaticallyindi-..

the stocking by frequent "yarnchanges, to clamp the yarn'to be removedrises so as to missthe'needlemoving lower than the v of the knittingmachine i showingparticularly the take-up sweeps and the cated in Fig. 2"'Ijhe particular controlling means forthe'fingers form 119 partoi thepresent invention. The 'yarnsare' fed through the opening 16 in thelatch ring in'the usual fashion.

cams of conventional type serve to control the needles for the formation01' stitches. These cams-include'the stitch cams l8 and 122, the

upper center cam 20 and'the lower center cam 24. "Jacks 23 provided withbutts are raised by. a jack camliiv andflowered bya lower cam face-onthe, lower center cam '24. The number of .jacks which is used dependsupon the desired overlap-of'the striping yarns. 'In general,

an overlap of threeneedlesis sufficient. and accordingly three jacks 28arejillustrated, located below the needles in the needle slots; Thejacks 28 are maintained in the slotsby a circular ring, i 01 earns. Asthe jacks '28 ride up. the cam 26 they serve to raise the needlesassociated with them'to a level above'the otherneedles at theyarn-taking position. As a result of this and the fashion in whichthestriping'yarnsare' presented to the needles, the yarns a'rei'definitelytaken by the high-riding needles withfa result that the striping yarnsgo into action on-these needles. The arrangement is also suchfthatthewyarns are removed from the last of this set 'of needles by reason ofthe fact that as the finger carrying the yarn is raised last of theraised set; 1 v k u c The proper insertion 01a striping yarn on thefirst of the raised'nee'dles is efie ctedibyjthe use of a'sloping wireindicated at I3ll whichis carried 'by the'bracket '32' acting asafsupport .for' they clamping and cutting .me'chanism. The wire is sopositioned immediately inside the needle-circle that the yarns ride downit as the yarn fingers move into action in such fashion'that while theyare above the needles whichare riding at normal levels, they are engagedby. the needles which have been raised by the jacks. v f

' The clamping and cutting means is substantially of'convention'al typeand'isheres'hown as of the typeidescribed inmy Patent 1,4 2,551,

dated July, 24, 1923. The presentclamplng and cuttin mechanism differsfrom that of thev at- The circular knitting m'achine.comprises a g p outonly by'rea'son ofthe fact that the clamp 36 a "to engage ,a stripingyarn as it. istaken out of action to preventv its being' dra ged 'intothe clamping means. Besides the clamp 36, which" is adapted to. beopened against the action; of its spring by apattern-controlled lever 46lifted throughthe rod 4,8 .contro1led .by cams on the moyableblade H."The movable bladefl'isalso controlled by the lever 46 as described inmy patent.

, To secure proper handling of the striping yarns during their periodsof inaction, it is necessary to provide take-up sweeps for them inaddition to the main sweep or sweeps which control the, yarns used inreciprocatory knitting. Apost 50 supports a bracket 52 on which thetake-up sweeps and associated elements are mounted. The take-up sweepsfor the two striping yarns,

herein disclosed,v are illustrated at 54 and 56, while the main take-upsweep used during recip rocatory knitting is indicated at 58. Each ofthese sweeps receives its yarn from the supply throughsuitable guideeyes and tensions 60. The 1 various sweeps are normally urged towardraised position by springs 62.

' The main take-up sweep 58.1s held in lower" position during rotaryknitting by a plunger.

controlled by a lever 65 whic h is'acted upon by cams on the main camdisc.v When the plunger 64 releases the main sweep 58 .foracreciprocatory knitting, thereby insuring that the tion', a bracket 68carried by it engages the tails of the sweeps 54 and 56 movingthemupward to positions limited/by stops 10. The plunger 64, either'byits weight or by theprovision of suitable springs insures that thesweeps 54 and 56 are maintained in their'raised position during yarnsare not pulled out of the clamping means when the clamping means isopened to release;

the heel andftoe yarn.

During rotary knitting of the leg or foot of a stocking in whichstriping is taking place, the fingers lil and l2 are'alternately loweredinto action..

The yarn from the raisedffinger, during the for- V mation ofsuchportions of the stocking, is drawn through thefinger as the cylinderrevolves. In the ordinary type of machine this action would result insuch'yarns being drawn into the clamping and cutting mechanism. 7 In thepresent case, however,

the extension 38 of the clamping lever 36 engages the yarn,whichextendsbetween the last loop in which it"was knit formed by the trailing oneofthe three raised needles and the raised yarn finger, and serves todeflect it in such fashion that it will pass below the bevelled edge ofthe disc 34.

The action of the corresponding sweep 54 or .55

controls it so as to maintain it in taut condition to prevent itsaccidentally becoming engaged and broken byany partof the mechanism.When a I striping yarn change takes place, the finger carrying the yarnwhich is to go into action causes it to ride down thefwire 30 inposition to be engaged by the first of the raised needles. Immediatelythereafter, the finger holding the yarn which was being knit will beraised and itsyarn will be withdrawn from the last of the raisedneedles.

Such 'action, without the operation of. the clamping'and cutting means,takes place during the? raised needles. As the laststriping yarn israised, it, together with the yarn trailing from the striping fingerwhich is already raised, will pass below the clamp 38 andspring clamp 40and asthe first reciprocation proceeds will" enter the cutter to beimmediately thereafter 'cut. Simultaneously with the introduction of:the. heel yarn, the takeup sweep 58 is permitted to become active. Thedownward movement of the rod 64, which effects this, raises the sweeps54 and 55., The striping yarns are not at this time clamped but arestill running to the fabric. Sufiicient yarn.is drawn from the suppliesto take care of this motion of the sweeps if either of them is notalready in its uppermost position. As a consequence of the fact that thetake-up sweeps are thereafter in their raised positions (which they willretain even after rod64 'is'again raised and until their respectiveyarns are again seized by the ncedles), they will not exert any pull onthe striping yarns when the clamp is next opened to permit a yarnchange, the

striping yarns being held by the spring clamp 40 during the opening'ofclamp 38'. If'the sweeps were notin theirraised position, it is obviousthat at the end of reciprocatory knitting, when one of the stripingyarns was again to bereinserted and the clamp '38 was opened, the otheryarn might be snapped by its sweep out of the clamping and cutting meansso as not'to be reinsertablea It is obvious thatfollowing reciprocatoryknitmove under the disc 34 so as not to be engaged by the clamping andcutting elements. I

ting the striping yarns may be successively brought into action at..thepropertimes and will If an extended toe is being knit, the toe yarn willbe inserted to form it and the striping yarns will be clamped and out.'Th'eir sweeps, however, will still be'under tension until themachinestarts reciproca'tory knitting. Since the toe ya'rn is used for theextended toe, the clamp will not open at the transition from rotarytoreciprocatory' knit-t ting and will continue to hold the striping yarnsas-the sweeps 54 and 56 are'raised'by the depression of the rod 84. Itis found that the clamps 35 and will hold the yarns during-such'action.

Although one control is shown forall three.

sweeps, it is obvious that two or e'ven three separate controls could beused if, iforinstame, the

striping yarns should, for any reason, befclamped and cut during theleg-knitting at aitime when the heel yarn sweep would not be released.

It'will be clear that variations in the invention '1 may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the followingclaims:

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidablysupportingsaid needles,

clamping and cutting means inside the needle circle, means foralternately feeding at'least two yarns to the needles at the same feedpoint, means for taking, up a yarn which is not knitting but whichextendsto the fabric while its' end connected to the fabric makesa'substantially comple terevolution relative to the feeding means,and'means for deflecting such idle yarn-beneath the clamping 1 andcutting means to'avoid engagement thereby.

2. A knitting machine including a circle of needles; a cylinderslidablysupporting said needles; means for alternately feeding at least twoyarnsto the needles at the same feed point, means for differentiating duringa single rotation of: the cylinder asmall group of adjacent needles fromothers preceding and following the group as they pass the feed point toca-usethe yarnsto enter on the firstneedle of the group'and goout ofaction from the last needle of the group, and means forguiding the yarns"to. said group of needles to cause yarns from feeding mea'n'siocated indifierent'active positions to move sub- I stantially identicallydownwardly relatively to the needle circle between needles thereof whengoing into action, whereby a definite overlap corresponding to the widthof the group is provided.

3. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidablysupporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least twoyarns to the needles at the same feed point in one por-' tion of afabric, means for taking up a yarn which is not knitting, but which isconnected to the fabric, during the formation of said portion of thefabric, and means for clamping said yarns during the formation ofanother portion of the fabric.

4. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidablysupporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least twoyarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabric,means for taking up a yarn which is not knitting during the formation ofsaid portion of the fabric, means for clamping said yarns duringtheformation of another portion of the fabric, and means for relievingtake-up strain on said yarns while they are clamped.

5. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidablysupporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least twoyarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabric,means for taking up a yarn which is not knitting during the formation ofsaid portion of the fabric, means for clamping said yarns during theformation of another portion of the fabric, and means for relievingtake-up strain on said yarns prior to their being clamped and cut.

6. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidablysupporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least twoyarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabric,means for taking up a yarn which is notknitting during the formation ofsaid portion of the fabric, means for clamping said yarns during theformation of another portion of the fabric, and means for relievingtake-up strain on said yarns after they are clamped and cut and prior tosubsequent opening of the clamp.

7. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidablysupporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least twoyarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabric,means for taking up a yarn which is not knitting during the formation ofsaid portion of the fabric, means for clamping. said yarns during theformation of another portion of the fabric, and means for effectingpositioning of the take-up means at the take-up limit while the yarnsare clamped.

8. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, 9. cylinderslidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at leasttwo yarnsto the needles at the same feed point, and means for guidingthe yarns to said needles to cause yarns from feeding means located indifferent active positions to move substantially identically downwardlybetween the needles when going into action and prior to engagement by aneedle whereby the yarns are caused to enter on the same needle.

9. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidablysupporting said needles, means for alternately feeding a plurality ofyarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabricto produce limited overlaps thereof where one is taken out of and theother brought into action, means for taking up any of such plurality ofyarns while it is not knitting and while, during knitting of another ofsaid yarns in said portion of fabric, it extends from the feeding meansto the last loop formed plurality of yarns to the needles at the samefeed point in one portion of a fabric to produce limited overlapsthereof where one is taken out of and the other brought into action,means for taking up any of such plurality of yarns while it is notknitting and while it extends to the fabric during the formation of saidportion of fabric, and means for deflectingsuch idle yarn beneath theclamping and cutting means-to avoid engagement thereby and while it isunder the control of said take up means.

11. A knitting machine including a circle'of needles, a cylinderslidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at leasttwo yarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of afabric, each of the two yarns being fed to the needles in eachalternation to enter one or more substantially complete courses, meansfor taking up throughout the formation of one or more substantiallycomplete courses a yarn which is not knitting during the formation ofthe fabric, and means for clamping said yarns during the formation ofanother portion of the fabric.

12..A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinderslidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at'leasttwo yarnsto the needles at the same feed point in one portion of afabric, means for introducing both yarns on the same needle and forremoving them from another needle following by a relatively shortdistance the first mentioned needle to produce a limited overlap of theleaving and entering yarns, means for taking up in said portion of thefabric ayarn which is not knitting and which extends continuously fromthe feeding means to the fabric, and means for clamping said yarnsduring the formation of another portion of the fabric.

13. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinderslidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at leasttwo yarns to the needles at the same feed point, and means fixedlylocated with respect to the feeding means providing a guiding edge overwhich the yarns slide when going into action to cause yarns from feedingmeans located in different active positions to move substantiallyidentically relatively to the needle circle downwardly between theneedles when going into action and prior to engagement by a needlewhereby the yarns are caused to enter on the same needle.

14. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinderslidably supporting said needles, means relatively to which the cylinderrotates for alternately feeding at least two yarns to the needles at thesame feed point, and means inside the needle circle and closely adjacentthereto for guiding the portion of an entering yarn adjacent the needlecircle prior to its 'engagement by a needle downwardly in apredetermined path extending generally lengthwise of the axis of saidcylinder whereby the yarns are caused to enter on the same needle.

WlLBUR L. HOUSEMAN.

